Nambiti Big 5 Private Game Reserve — Attraction in Emnambithi/Ladysmith Local Municipality

Jewel of a smaller game park that is dedicated to animal protection and preservation. The park itself is about 30,000 acres and only has 9 lodges so the experience is superb. During this trip I stayed at Lions Valley Lodge which can accomodate just over 20 people at a time. The guide (Brent) was amazing and with at least 2 guided safaris daily truly saw some amazing sites and incredible animals up close and personal. The accomodations were lovely and quite spacious. Included large comfortable bed, full living room, walk-in closet, dining area, large deck area that overlooked a watering hole, dual tubs and dual showers (both indoor and outdoor). Stay included meals at the lodge (excellent) as well as snacks during the safari excursions so represented a good value for the price. The Lodge also has a spa that provides great relaxing services (massages, facials, etc.) also at very resonable prices. Did not make use of the infinity pool, but it was lovely and I will next time. If your room is not seclusion enough from the world (though it is all that) the lodge also has a comfortable library and other areas to relax and socialize. This lodge is not fenced which means that the animals have access to the lodge area as well, so small children are not allowed (under 8 I believe) and you do require an escort to and from your room any time other than during the main part of the day. Admittedly, I liked this aspect of the experience as there was on elephant on the grounds the week prior to my visit and a Rhino and pup visited while I was there! I flew into Durban and drove (about 2.5 hours), but Nambiti can also be reached from Joburg (about a 4 hour drive). I did visit one of the other lodges - Springbok, which is fully fenced and has luxury tent accomodations, so there are different lodges for different experiences and price points. Cannot recommend highly enough. I will be back and will take additional family members for this...

Was welcomed at the gate by Lucky. He has a wicked sense of humor. Parked vehicle at the guests parking and was warmly welcomed by Hayden McGladdery, our Safari Ranger for the duration of our stay. At the check in, was welcomed by Sakhile (Saks) Dlamini. All Covid protocols were followed. After drinks and check in, we went on an afternoon game viewing. We were not prepared for the cold wind. Fortunately we had our jackets and ponchos were provided. The following day was even better, with two drives, one at 5:00 to 9:00 a.m. The highlight was the afternoon drive, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Saw two fully grown male lions and a lioness, who ambled past our vehicle. Was awesome sight. Other wildlife: rhinos(both white and black), too many to mention. They are protected by security personnel, on motorbikes, who have to sight and call in the rhinos locations; Bull elephants, a number of buffaloes 4 of the big 5). Were not fortunate to see a leopard and cheetah; Numerous wildebeest, kudu, warthogs, hartebeest, grey duiker. We saw the elusive aardwolf, late one evening. A unique sighting. Saw a serval ( very rear cat) walk through the grounds of our unit. Hayden our Ranger said that it was a difficult animal to see. Hayden is passionate, very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his chosen vocation. Was a great experience, especially after the pandemic. Our luxury tent even had an outside shower. Ndaka Game Lodge, one of the camps.in Nambiti Game Reserve, is an outstanding destination. Even had the opportunity to meet with the owner, Mike Marshall. A very engaging and knowledgeable gentleman. Has an outstanding staff complement, who are always willing to go the extra mile. Will definitely...

Nambiti is located close to Ladysmith in Kwa Zulu Natal. Nambiti is a private nature reserve having a number of game lodges. We stayed in Nambiti Hills Game Lodge for three nights. Nambiti has two excellent guides who take you round the reserve in excellently appointed open petrol driven Land cruisers (les noisy than diesel driven vehicles) The vehicles can carry up to 10 customers. The Lodge has two game drives a day. We were there in August, which can be an extremely cold time of the year. We were all provided with water proof lined ponchos and were able to be reasonably warm even though it was 5:30 in the morning. The reserve has a number of biomes. from hilly to flat plains. Because of this there is a wide variety of game. The highlights during our stay will stay with our family forever. We were close to two sub adult lions being chased out of the territory of two black mained male lions. Probably the top highlight was being close to a Black Rhino and its young. The adult mock charged the vehicle. Elephants within 10 meters from the vehicle, being in the middle of a herd of buffalo. I can go on and on. The one thing that impressed us most was the knowledge our guide and driver had, both about animal behaviour and birdlife. So if birds are your interest you wont be...